Determining what your cat can and cannot eat is a minefield at the best of times, and sometimes foods you’d never even imagined being bad for your cat can be just that.
If you own a cat, you might be wondering: Can cats have oat milk?
In this article, I will cover some key information about cats and oat milk, including whether cats can have oat milk.
Let’s get started.
Can Cats Have Oat Milk?
Yes, cats can drink oat milk. In fact, oat milk is often gentler on a cat’s stomach and digestive system than traditional cow’s milk.
That being said, oat milk isn’t particularly nutritious for cats and it can be difficult to digest and cause stomach upset if fed to cats in large quantities.
If you choose to treat your cat with a small amount of oat milk, you will need to ensure that you find oat milk that is less-processed and more natural.
As a result, your cat should only be given oat milk in moderation.
For cats who love the flavor, it might be considered a delicious treat to have every once in a while, but should never become a part of their daily diet.
In addition to this, you should never overestimate the portion quantity of oat milk for your cat.
A couple of teaspoons is plenty.
Allowing your cat to have oat milk in moderation will help to prevent stomach upsets from consuming too many oats.
It’s also worth mentioning that many oat milk brands can be packed with sugar. It’s important that you read labels carefully when looking for a good quality oat milk brand.
Where Can You Buy Oat Milk?
You can buy oat milk at the majority of grocery stores and health food stores.
As mentioned above, it’s best to look for a healthier variety that is also unsweetened.
If you’re buying online, make sure that you check the ingredients list.
Some companies add artificial sweeteners or other additives to their products.
As a result, you should always opt for the unsweetened variation of oat milk to give to your cat.
That being said, even unsweetened oat milk has naturally occurring sugar, which is why you shouldn’t give your cat oat milk on a regular basis.
If you want to try making your own oat milk, you can do so easily by following these steps.
Ingredients
1 cup of rolled oats (or any type of grain)
2 cups of water
Instructions
Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour the mixture through a cheesecloth to strain all of the leftover bits of oats.
Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
By making your own oat milk, you can closely monitor the ingredients that are going into the oat milk.
As a result, you don’t need to worry about carefully checking the ingredients list for any hidden nasties that could upset your cat’s stomach.
Your cat is much safer without consuming the additional preservatives, artificial colorings, and flavors, not to mention the high sugar content that many store-bought oat milks contain.
As a result, feeding your cat homemade oat milk in moderation is probably the safest way of feeding your cat oat milk altogether.
Despite this fact, you should still keep this treat to a minimum.
How Often Can You Give Your Cat Oat Milk?
As I’ve already established in this article, you should only feed your cat oat milk in moderation.
Giving your cat a little oat milk at a time, every now and again is likely to be okay for your pet.
However, you shouldn’t make a habit of giving your pet on a regular basis. It should very much be treated as a treat.
Generally speaking, you should limit their consumption of oat milk to once every couple of weeks.
It contains a variety of ingredients that aren’t good for them in large quantities such as sugar, and cats should only really drink water on a regular basis.
It’s also important to note that giving them oat milk as a treat should always fall in line with their healthy, balanced diet, as they could easily put on weight if it became a regular part of their diet.
Is Oat Milk Better For Your Cat Than Cow’s Milk?
Provided that it is given to your cat in moderation, yes, oat milk is a better alternative for cats to drink than traditional cow’s milk.
This comes down to the fact that it is lactose-free.
It’s a common misconception that you should feed your cat cow’s milk, as the majority of cats are lactose intolerant.
As a result, feeding them cow’s milk can cause stomach upsets and generally make them feel unwell if you’re not mindful of this.
However, just because oat milk is better for your cat than traditional cow’s milk, doesn’t mean that it’s good to give your cat on a very regular basis.
While it’s fine to give them every now and then as a treat, store-bought oat milk still contains sugar that you should be wary of incorporating into your cat’s diet.
Can Cats Drink Vanilla Oat Milk?
A small amount of vanilla oat milk isn’t necessarily going to harm your cat, but just because you can give your cat something doesn’t necessarily mean that you should.
It’s also worth mentioning that you should only give them unsweetened vanilla oat milk in moderation, as the sweetened variety isn’t good for them or their weight management.
In addition to this, many vanilla oat milk varieties contain artificial flavorings that should be avoided, as you don’t want your furry friend consuming these nasty ingredients.
In Summary
It’s fine for cats to drink oat milk provided that it is in moderation.
Oat milk should never be incorporated into your cat’s daily diet, but makes a nice treat for them as a treat every now and again.
Make sure that you introduce oat milk to your cat slowly and only give it to them in moderation to avoid any stomach upsets.
I’m Courtney Trent and I hope that I can answer some burning questions that you have about cats, as well as some questions that you’d never have thought to ask before.
I am aiming to shed new light on these amazing pets and hopefully change some people’s opinions on them. Also, let’s talk about wild cats - they’re just as awesome as domestic cats!
So, stay a while and learn more about domestic and wild cats from Windhaven Ocicats.
